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Buy my book... please! (with DR's blessing)

Chuck Hagerty

Well Known Member
[ed. Chuck and I talked about this and I encouraged him to post his book for sale. dr]

How’s that for a shameless marketing ploy! After writing the book and then figuring out all the steps involved in getting something published, I’m glad to say I finally have a finished product. While this may not be quite on par with building and flying your own plane, it’s still pretty exciting and the education has been worthwhile.

Thanks to many of you for your support and suggestions…You’ll recognize quite a few VAF names mentioned throughout the book. Thanks especially to Gerald Champagne for offering the proof-reading services of his wife Carol—what a big help.

I did not use the title, You Know it’s a Bad Landing When You’re Upside Down, because as several of you advised, the book needs to appeal to a wider audience. The title that I finally decided on is, INVERTED: Looking Back on Walking Away. Bill Lane suggested “Looking Back on Walking Away,” and I thought it fit well as a subtitle…Thanks Bill. Larry Larson will also recognize his title suggestion as having been used for one of the chapter titles.

Here’s the caption that I wrote on the rear book cover: “There’s an old pilot saying that goes, “Any landing you walk away from is a good landing.” This wry bit of gallows humor goes on to ask, “Do you know the difference between a good landing and a great landing? After a great landing, the plane can still fly.” On June 15, 2013, I didn’t have a great landing…I didn’t even have a good one! My wife and I found ourselves on backboards with our heads strapped down, as we were whisked away in separate ambulances. My purpose for telling this experience has been to share an esoteric story about building and flying an experimental airplane, surviving neck injuries that almost always result in death or paralysis, being the subject of a successful rare surgical procedure, and borrowing some insights along the way. The speed has been exhilarating, the highs and lows extreme, and the life-changing lessons worth learning. I hope you enjoy the flight.”

Six people wrote recommendations for the book: Lauran Paine, Jr. columnist for EAA Sport Aviation, Bob Barrows, designer of the BearHawk, Jerry Falwell, President of Liberty University, Dave Young, Brigadier General, USAF (Ret), Dr. Jerry Jackson, Author: The Flight of the Feral Chihuahua, In Pursuit of the Round-Trip Transcontinental Speed Record, and John Marselus, Colonel, USAF (Ret).

I wish I could print what all of these great guys had to say, but that would take up too much of Doug’s site.

The book is 200 pages and you can order it through Aircraft Spruce. Once they add shipping, the cost will be around twenty dollars, and if you add it onto your next batch of parts from AS, you might save a few bucks. You can see a picture of the cover--with the upside down plane--on the attachment below.

Thanks again Doug for providing such a great site, and thank all of you who've been following this bad landing experience…Let me know what you think about my story.

www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/bvpages/inverted.php
 
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I like to support people who support this hobby and this site. I'll add this to my next order. Thanks.
 
I like to support people who support this hobby and this site. I'll add this to my next order. Thanks.

Same here, and few aviation safety lessons are more valuable than those taught by pilots who learned them the hard way. I'm glad you both survived. I can't wait to read it!
 
Ditto

ACS out of stock, but I ordered it anyways. Great way to support fellow pilot and learn something too.
 
ebook?

Is there an ebook version? Then you don't have to worry about running out of stock and that would appeal to an even larger audience.

I'm ignorant on the logistics of e-publishing or any publishing for that matter so I'm sure it's easier said than done...
 
It's in my cart at ACS, waiting for my next order. Who among us hasn't wanted to write a book? Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
 
Thank You!

ACS out of stock, but I ordered it anyways. Great way to support fellow pilot and learn something too.

Thanks for ordering Wendell. The first printing is supposed to be shipped Dec. 19...so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Is there an ebook version? Then you don't have to worry about running out of stock and that would appeal to an even larger audience.

I have the ISBN for the ebook format Glenn, but still working on figuring out how to do that...hopefully in the next couple of weeks.
 
It will be on my Christmas Spruce order. Looking forward to reading the book. Glad you took the time and effort to complete it, so we can all add to our expertise....second hand.
Cheers.
 
It's in my cart at ACS, waiting for my next order. Who among us hasn't wanted to write a book? Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

You're right Jerry, and we all need to write that book. By the nature of what we do we are part of a rare club that has unique experiences and those experiences need to be recorded especially for the sake of our family. That's how this book evolved...I started jotting down notes as things were happening and the pages added up quickly.

Thanks, and I hope you enjoy it.
 
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